


Please Be My Fake Boyfriend

by Imagines_Dreams



Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/M, Fake Dating, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-09-21 00:10:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17032560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imagines_Dreams/pseuds/Imagines_Dreams
Summary: You love your grandparents, and they’re coming over for the holidays! You were paranoid though. You weren’t going to see them for a long time after that, and they desperately wanted to see your boyfriend. Problem is you don’t have a boyfriend. You do have a close friend by the name of Connor Murphy, though.





	Please Be My Fake Boyfriend

“You want me to” -Connor shook his head and pulled on his bag’s strap- “what?”

You bit your lip. “I know. I know it sucks, but my grandparents really want to see me with a boyfriend and I won’t see them for another few years, and…” You trailed off. “Connor, I know it’s crazy and weird, and you probably won’t, but I’m…” You rubbed your hands together. “You’re the only one I trust, and my grandparents aren’t exactly healthy.” You smiled nervously. “Sorry. You don’t have to. It’s insane.” You pursed your lips. “You know what, I’m going to go. I’ll see you-”

“Fine.”

You blinked. You smiled sadly. “Connor, you don’t have-”

“No, it’s fine.” He shrugged. “Your family can’t be crazier than mine.”

Your eyes widened.

“They’re not crazy, right?”

You inhaled through your teeth. “Well, let’s just say, if you accept this challenge, we’re gonna have to, uh, set our story straight.”

“You mean…”

“How we met, first kiss, if we want to get married, how many kids, where we want to live.” You stared up at Connor, his eyebrows raised up to his hairline. “And etcetera.” You tried to laugh it off, but it came out as a few short huffs of air.

Connor blinked a few times. He tilted his head back and let out one long breath. “Apparently, I’m doing a lot of shit to get away from my parents this year.”

You beamed. “Thank you!” You leaped onto Connor and wrapped your arms around his shoulders. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” You pulled away and held his shoulders. “You are the absolute best, Connor.”

He rolled his eyes. “Someone’s dramatic.”

“But, until after the reunion, you love me for it.” You smiled. “Um, are you ok with talking about our story after school?”

He nodded. “Yeah sure.”

You smiled. “You’re amazing, Connor!” You kissed his cheek. “I’ll see you after school!”

Your friend was glad you didn’t turn around.. You didn’t see him blush, blink so many times, or lift his hand to his cheek to touch where your lips brushed his cheek. He wasn’t lying when he said he wanted to get away from his family, but that definitely wasn’t his main reason for saying yes to you. That and he couldn’t say no to you. You were too beautiful, too caring, too genuine. All the things he didn’t think he deserved or needed, but there you were.

Connor licked his lips and went through the motions, all while thinking of you.

You pointed at another uncle in the picture. “Who’s this?”

“The cook who will make me eat more than I can.”

You smiled. “All of them will do that, but yes, the cook of the family.” You pointed at another family member. “This one?”

“(y/n),” he whined.

You huffed. “Fine. Ok ok, then tell me where we met.”

“Class?”

You glared at him.

“I first saw you in English class. You saw me reading a book you’ve read recently. Approached me and the rest is history.”

You opened your mouth, but Connor interrupted you. “You asked me out to dinner a few weeks after my birthday because you were going to ask on my birthday but you chickened out. We dated for three weeks, then kissed on our fourth date when I dropped you off. We are a year into the relationship, so marriage is a thought for after college. I want two kids. You want three. We argue about it. Am I done?”

You gasped. ‘Well, Connor, I honestly didn’t think you were listening, but you are great at surprising me.”

Connor shrugged. “Had nothing better to do.”

“No, really.” You held his hands. “This means a lot. I rarely see my grandparents, and you doing this just…” You met his eyes and felt your heart swell with admiration. “Thank you.” Connor didn’t look up from the table, but you didn’t miss the slight shift in his posture. His shoulders relaxed, and he hid his face behind his hair, a certain sign that he was smiling a bit too wide.

Your phone rang, and the silence splintered. You quickly picked it up. “Hello?” You gasped. “Grandpa, how are you?” You smiled at Connor. “Yeah, actually, I do. I know.” You nodded. “Yes, grandpa. You’ll meet him there. Ok, I’ll see you soon. I love you.” You hung up and took a deep breath. “That was your fake future grandpa-in-law, and he’s very excited to meet you.”

Connor licked his lips. A kid who was accused of being the school shooter meeting an old man and woman who wanted the best for their wonderful granddaughter. He tapped his fingers nervously against the table.“Maybe Evan would be better off for this.”

You blinked. “What? Evan?” You shook your head. “He’d probably end up telling the truth.” You tilted your head. “Look, if you want to back out, you can.”

He smirked. “Nah.” Connor smiled a bit too wide for a second or two, elated that you were still choosing him. Sure it wasn’t his idea of choosing him, but you were still choosing him nonetheless. “It’s fun watching you run around like a headless chicken.”

You smacked his arm. “You’re lucky you’re my friend, Murphy.”

* * *

The day arrived. It was a few hours before the reunion just when Connor called you. You smiled at your laptop. “Hey, Con. Aren’t you supposed to be getting ready?”

“I am.” He gestured to his outfit, a nice black tuxedo with a black ribbon for a tie. “I was just wondering if I needed to bring anything. My mom used to nag me to bring shit to other people’s-”

You laughed. “First off, even though you look amazing, it’s way too formal for this. Maybe some black jeans and a shirt. Second, um, I was going to say not bring anything, but maybe a bouquet?”

“So high maintenance,” he teased. Connor opened his closet as he searched for some clothes. “Bouquet for you?”

“Nah, for my mom. She’d love it.”

“Ok.” He groaned. “Uh, what about this?”

You looked at his outfit and woah. Connor in a tux was one thing. Attractive, yes, but a bit out of his personality and circumstance. But him in that black turtleneck and ironed black jeans. You’d never seen that before. Maybe you had but Connor always wore his favorite hoodie over everything. It was so Connor, and it took your breath away. If only the school could see past the rumors and stereotypes, they’d be able to see what you see. A boy so unapologetically true to himself, so honest and blunt, and so passionate about everything he did.

A warm feeling blossomed in your stomach. You were one of the only ones to see Connor like this. What blessed you to be this special?

“You don’t like it,” Connor stated.

You cleared your throat. “No, not at all. Black was always your signature color, huh?”

His shoulders slumped. “I am not changing for my fake girlfriend’s fucking family, (Y/n).”

You laughed. “Oh, please, I wasn’t going to tell you to change. I was going to say at least put your hair up in a red or green ribbon at least.” You held your breath as an image of Connor with his hair tied up with a colorful ribbon popped into your mind. Unapologetically himself and so beautiful. You licked your lips. “Just to be festive. It’s the holidays after all!”

Connor looked around his room and shuffled through a few drawers. “I don’t think I’ll ever find a green or red ribbon.”

The words stumbled out of your mouth before you could stop them. “You can come to my house.” When Connor stared at you like you’d grown horns, you stuttered, “I-I mean I have some festive ribbons and things. I-I can lend one to you.” You bit your lip. “You can come here on time, many people won’t be here yet, and I can give you the ribbon?” You smiled a little, trying to convince both your friend and yourself that what you said was totally normal.

Connor blinked. He tried to smile a little. “Then I’ll see you at six.”

“Yeah. Bye, Connor.”

“See ya.”

You hung up. You took a deep breath and settled into your chair, letting your body rest against the chair. Your heart was racing. Your fingers trembled as you placed your hand over your heart. Ye, it was still racing. What was wrong with you? Connor was your closest friend. You didn’t know him for long, maybe a few months, but it felt like you knew each other forever. He was someone you looked up to and went to for everything. You couldn’t possibly…

You shook your head. You had to get through the family reunion first. Past drunk uncles, questioning grandparents, and Connor coming to your house.

Connor was coming to your house!

Shit, you had to get ready!

* * *

“You must be Connor!”

You gasped. You excused yourself from your cousins and rushed to your mom at the door. “Connor!” You smiled at the bouquet in your mom’s arms and pulled Connor inside by the hand. You tried to keep your mind off the fact that you were holding his hand while you told your mom, “Mom, this is Connor, my boyfriend.”

Your mom smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Connor, and thank you for the bouquet.”

Connor was still staring at you. You looked beautiful. Stunning.

You nudged him.

He cleared his throat. “Pleasure, Mrs. (Y/l/n).” Connor even bowed his head a little as an awkward sign of respect.

You giggled and once your mom left to put the bouquet in a vase, you turned to Connor and held up a festive, red clip and a green ribbon. “Which one?”

Connor stared at both of them. “Both are so… cheesy.”

You laughed. “Connor, you can curse It’s fine.”

“Ok, both are fucking cheesy."

"Too bad!" You beamed and motioned for Connor to turn around. You held both of the accessories up to your eyes. You bit your lip. You gathered the top half of his hair and fastened it with the red clip. Then, to make it even more festive, you tied the ribbon to the clip. “There, perfectly festive.”

“You used both, didn’t you?”

“That’s what you get for putting me in charge.”

“Ey!” A cousin bumped into you and wrapped an arm around you. “(Y/n)! It’s been years.”

“You’re drunk,” you stated. “You’ve only been here thirty minutes?”

“Not drunk, tipsy.” Your cousin stood straighter and eyed Connor. Your fake boyfriend glanced at you before glaring at your tipsy cousin. Your relative sent a hard stare back. You looked between the two, feeling like you should probably do something. “Uh, this is my boyfriend, Connor.” Your statement turned into a question when neither acknowledged you.

You groaned. “Guys!”

They didn’t move. What was this? A masculinity contest?

“Please, Connor!” you whined.

Connor broke. He sighed and went to your side. He held out his hand politely. “I’m Connor.”

Your cousin stared at Connor’s hair. “That’s cheesy.”

Your fake boyfriend put his hand down. “Nevermind.”

“My sweet (Y/n)!” Your grandmother grabbed you by both cheeks and kissed your forehead. “I haven’t seen you in so long, (Y/n). You are so skinny. What happened to you? Has my child not fed you in the last year?”

You laughed. “Grandma, I’m fine.”

“Does grandma get all the love?”

You laughed and hugged your grandpa. “I’ve missed you so much, grandpa.”

“Not as much as I have you.”

Your grandma beamed when she saw Connor. “Is this who I think it is?”

You pulled away from your grandpa and pulled Connor to your side. “Grandpa, grandma, this is Connor. He’s my boyfriend.”

You could feel Connor shaking in your grasp. You rubbed his knuckles. His eyes met yours. They were questioning, worried, terrified maybe. You just smiled and squeezed his hand. You tilted your head towards your grandparents.

Connor took a deep breath and smiled at your relatives. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Your grandfather gasped. “Did you see that? That look they shared?”

“Oh, I saw it alright!” Your grandma squealed and held Connor’s hand. “You are a nice young man. Come, sit next to me and Grandpa.”

You gave Connor’s hand one last squeeze before letting him sit between your grandparents.

“Sweetheart, go talk with your cousin,” your grandpa told you.

You opened your mouth to protest, but your grandma interrupted. “We won’t torture him, I promise.”

You stood still for a moment. You smiled at Connor and gave him a thumbs up.

“(Y/n), please,” your grandma said.

You nodded and smiled at Connor one last time before leaving.

Once you were gone, your grandma turned to Connor. “You do know that (Y/n) is a horrible liar.”

His heart stopped. “W-What? I don’t-”

“Even if she was, she couldn’t lie to us,” your grandpa continued. “I knew she was going to pull something like this, like from one of her stories.”

“Can you blame her?” your grandma shot back. “We barely see her.” She took Connor’s hand in hers. “You do feel something for our (Y/n), don’t you, dear?”

Connor denied this truth immediately. “I am her boyfriend. Of course I-”

“I will repeat. You have feelings for (Y/n) and you’re not currently dating because she put you up to this.” She smiled. “Please, don’t lie to an old lady.”

Connor blinked a few times. Then, he sighed. “Fine, you…” He bit his tongue to prevent a curse. He could at least not curse in front of elderly. “Found out. We’re not dating.”

“You should be,” your grandpa teased. “Honestly, I saw those looks you two shared. How long have you known her?”

His eyes darted around the room. “A few months,” Connor admitted.

“And you look at each other like that?” your grandma scoffed. “I don’t understand how you’re not dating. Now, I’m going to give you life-changing advice. If you really feel something for her, tell her. If I know anything about (Y/n), she’d want to know.” She tilted her head. “You’re a handsome young man” -she gestured to his outfit- “with personality and caring enough to go along with this. You deserve someone like her.”

Connor looked at your grandparents. His stomach twisted into knots as he thought of saying something. They thought he was worthy of you? Clearly, they didn’t know him well enough. They didn’t know what people said. They didn’t know what he has done. They didn’t know his family and how he pushed everyone away.

He locked his jaw. “Thank you for the advice.” Then, he got up and left. Your cousin got that liquor from somewhere.

Ok, so you were trying to keep an eye on Connor, but you lost him in the crowd of relatives. You pushed through aunts and uncles and family friend. Then, you spotted your black-clad knight. “Connor!” You reached out and grabbed his hand.

He didn’t turn back to look at you.

You blinked a few times. You maneuvered your way through bodies to step in front of him. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Connor still didn’t look at you. He was too busy staring at the ground.

You squeezed his hand and tried to catch his eye. You gently placed your hand on his cheek. “Connor, please” -his eyes met yours and he looked so hopeless and you were heartbroken- “what’ going on?”

Connor opened his mouth, but then your cousins shouted and yelled. “Mistletoe!”

“Now’s not the time!” You glared at all of your relatives. “Stop it!”

But the booze and festive spirit kept them going. It was one of you against all of them. “Guys, stop it, please!” They continued to chant and tease, and you growled. “Stop it!”

You gasped as Connor’s hand was ripped from yours. He kept his head down as he slipped past your relatives and right towards the door. A few of your cousins were surprised but went onto the next couple to tease them with mistletoe a few seconds later. You, you couldn’t get your mind off of Connor Murphy. What did your grandparents say? Were they too hard on him? Did they criticize him? What have you done?

This was all your fault. If you had just let Connor back out, none of this would’ve happened. You just had to be selfish. You just had to want to show your grandparents that you had a boyfriend. You wanted to go through that ritual of Grandpa telling your boyfriend embarrassing stories about himself or of you. You wanted your grandma to compliment you on your choice and to ask you a few too-private, too-early questions. You wanted to experience that.

Why did you have to drag Connor into it?

“Connor,” you whispered.

You didn’t even know where you were. You were somewhere outside your house. It took a while to track Connor. But you found him. That’s what mattered. “I’m sorry,” you let out. “I’m sorry I dragged you into this. I’m sorry about whatever grandpa and grandma said to you. I’m sorry about that mistletoe thing.” You gasped for air and stared at the ground. You couldn’t lose him. You couldn’t lose Connor.

“You’re crying.”

You looked up. Connor was in front of you, confused and unnervingly calm. You straightened yourself and wiped your tears haphazardly. “Sorry.”

He shoved his hands into his pockets. Connor laughed a little, but it sounded more like a wounded cry than that of laughter. “You didn’t do anything. It’s all me like it always is.”

“What are you-”

He rolled his eyes and turned around. He walked away from you again.

“No!” You grabbed his wrist. “Connor-”

“Let go, (Y/n).”

“Please, I’m not losing you. You’re too important.”

Connor glared at you. His voice grew stern, dark, almost threatening. “(Y/n).”

For a semi-second, you were scared. Scared of Connor Murphy. Guilt immediately washed over you. You knew what this meant. You knew what Connor was going to do.

You let go of his hand. Just as he turned around, you said, “Connor, if you’re mad at me, take it out on me.”

“(Y/n)-”

“Please.”

Connor froze for a while. He threw his back as if he just wanted to stare at the stars above. Then, he said so softly, “I’m not mad at you.”

You blinked. “You don’t have to lie.”

“I’m not lying.” He stared at you over his shoulder. You could see a shine in his eyes, tears. You wanted to reach for him, to give him physical comfort of some sort, but you were worried about him and how he would interpret your actions. You dug your nails into your palm and rooted yourself to the spot. “Then, who are you mad at?”

Connor turned around fully. “Aren’t you mad at me, too?”

That was a punch to your gut. All the air escaped your lungs, and you felt like you couldn’t breathe. Connor was mad at himself? For what? Nothing bad happened because of him. Did your grandparents say something? Your cousins? You?

“You can’t be that blind? Look at me!” Connor scoffed. He took the clip and ribbon from his hair. He held it in his hand for a second before looking away and letting it drop to the ground. “I fucking told you. I told you to get Evan. Anyone would be better at this shit than me.”

That was it. You grabbed Connor’s hands as gently as you could. “Connor, I chose you for a reason, ok?” You tried to smile as you wiped the tears from his cheeks. “You’re one of my closest friends. You’re important to me, and I trust you like no one else. Why do you think I let you see all of those embarrassing baby photos and stories from my family, huh?” You bit your lip as you racked your brain for more things to say, but then Connor’s eyes met yours.

Fuck, you couldn’t exactly concentrate on forming and saying coherent sentences when he was looking at you like that. He was looking at you like you were the light at the end of the tunnel. He wasn’t aware that on most days that’s what he was for you.

With all the confusion, feelings, and storm in your brain, one thought shone out. “I’m proud of you, Connor Murphy.” You rubbed his cheeks and sighed when his forehead touched yours. “I’m always proud of you.”

He laughed a little, a pure little melody against the scoffs bitterness from before.

“Are you still mad?” you asked.

He nodded. “I don’t think anything you can say will make me otherwise.”

You shuddered as you breathed. “Why are you mad?”

Connor gulped. His hands roamed from your shoulders to your hips. His touches were so light that if you weren’t concentrating hard enough you would be sure he wasn’t touching you at all. Then, his grip on your hips tightened.

You gasped and reveled in the rush that came along with his touch.

“I’m mad at myself because…” He trailed off to look you in the eye.

You opened your mouth to tell him that it was ok to continue, but his lips came crashing onto yours. Your eyes widened as you felt everything and nothing all at once. You could feel his fingers digging into your dress and putting pressure on your hips. You could feel his hair tickle your cheeks and neck ever so slightly. And his lips were pressed so firmly against yours, trying to force some sort of reaction from you, whatever it may be. It was a question.

You answered happily, kissing him back with everything you had. Your hands went from his cheeks to his hair. You were grateful he took the festive accessory off so that you could tangle your fingers in his hair. You pulled him closer and closer and god it felt so good. You wanted more of it. You didn’t want it to end.

Connor smiled against your lips, apparently more than satisfied with your reaction. He pressed himself against you, and his hands held you as close as he could.

The kiss itself was messy, a combination of pent-up feelings and passion and electricity. You were sure the air around you was crackling with whatever it was that the two of you felt for each other.

Too soon Connor ran out of air and pulled away from you.

Under his trance, you leaned forward to kiss him again. Connor laughed and happily obliged to kiss you sweetly once more.

You took a few deep breaths before finally gasping, “Still mad?”

“I don’t think so.”

You smiled. “Good.” Your lips were dangerously close to his. You hesitated. Your thoughts were still a confused tangle of Connor and feelings and holidays and-

“Kiss me again,” Connor whispered. “Please.”

You giggled. “Gladly.”

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know if I've ever mentioned this before, buuuuut I love fake dating! It's a perfect combination of angst, pining, confessions, ugh, it's wonderful! I hope you enjoyed this oneshot. Thanks so much!


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